CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
The Tories will "...press the government for an additional £5m to be invested in the Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets local authority capital grant" and "...work towards providing at least one segregated cycle route in each of Scotland’s seven cities, linking from outer city limits through city centres".
Not to worry though - they want the A1, A82, A90 and A75 upgraded - at a very rough guess this would cost in the hundreds of millions of pounds, possibly more than a billion.
Ruth Davidson was out in Roseburn for a photo opportunity in one of greasy spoons and reported to be strongly opposed to the cycling plans.
@mgj - seriously? I've not seen that.
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HuffPostUK Politics (@HuffPostUKPol)
14/04/2016, 12:53 pm
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson takes a mean penalty kick http://huff.to/1p0vS7X
http://pic.twitter.com/ouuL5Hl0mJ
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Ruth is putting it about that she wants to become a "strong opposition". The press are putting it about that she wants to become the "official opposition". Now, bearing in mind there's no such concept as an official opposition, a la Westminster, at Holyrood, this means she's already is an opposition but considers her current position as a Holyrood opposition leader as weak. Given the massive focus on her and her name to almost the complete detriment of her party's name and logo, I assume she feels the fault lies not with herself but with her party.
So, we could deduce from this that we should vote Weak Ruth Davidson Opposition for a Strong Ruth Davidson Opposition.
Personally I think the Tories are getting caught up in their own hype about Ruth and have totally overlooked the fact they're still the Tories.
In other news, it was doing the rounds on Tweeter that Labour have delayed their manifesto launch until Election Day E-8. Cutting it a bit fine?
"Cutting it a bit fine?"
In some ways no - who reads/cares.
BUT it all seems a bit weird/disrespectful that all parties have been campaigning for ages without manifestos/polices/promises.
'Obviously' the SNP is going to get an overall majority, but if the other parties, especially Labour, aren't punting their plans then not really surprising if they 'lose' votes.
Has everyone here used http://walkcyclevote.scot/candidate-info/ to find their candidates and ask them to (a) support #walkcyclevote's 3 asks and (b) to come to POP?
I did today and got really good responses from 2 candidates who had appeared to me not to be interested in such issues.
@stickman , yes. I was speaking to one of the campaigners against the plans on Tuesday and she said that Ruth was having a big breakfast in the café, with a scottie dog on her lap, and casting around for things to get oppositional about. Lack of ambulance access to Roseburn Cliff seemed to get her going (of course ambulances cant access blocks of flats either but the person I was talking to seemed rather hard of thinking; there are only 38 cyclists an hour so no need to make a change ignoring the idea that the change might encourage greater cycling in the future)
"Lack of ambulance access to Roseburn Cliff"
Eh, I can't see in the plans that Roseburn Cliff would be closed off. The ambulance as well as local residents just have to drive over the cycle path and pavement.
Jeez, that's depressing. Anyone point out her manifesto to her?
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ruth_E_Davidson/status/719582549421527040
Mr Roseburn Cafe and Mr "I'm a cyclist" Art Shop Owner in the picture.
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Spokes CycleCampaign (@SpokesLothian)
14/04/2016, 8:53 pm
Good @ScotTories promise. So, do @Ruth_E_Davidson+@CllrNickCook+#JeremyBalfour support @Edinburgh_CC E-W seg route??
http://pic.twitter.com/uX62gRa1HK
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"Mr Roseburn Cafe and Mr "I'm a cyclist" Art Shop Owner in the picture."
It's hardly surprising that these folk have Conservative sympathies, is it?
I am always surprised that anyone has Tory tendencies. Most people keep these quite quiet in the circles I move in
@gembo
I worked for a Tory many moons ago. She went to Loretto with revolutionary socialist Lord Darling of Roulanish and was equally coy about her political persuasions. 'Not political....but he is a good candidate...local man...etc.'
I'm looking forward to seeing the plush placards for the Conservative permacandidate for the highlands later on today - Mr Edward Mountain.
Lib Dem manifesto:
http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/manifesto_lowcarbontransport
will make cycling and walking safer and continue to aim to meet the existing target of 10 per cent of journeys to be by bike by 2020. We are attracted to the idea of securing savings in the road-building budget each year to devote to cycling. We will:
Increase the share of the transport budget that is spent on cycling and active transport by adding £20 million of capital spending;
Support safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists with more dedicated and segregated cycle lanes;
Encourage the extension of 20mph speeds in village, town and city centres;
Revise the current Cycling by Design guidelines to reflect international best practice and increase their authority to make them core national standards, ensuring safe provision for cyclists and pedestrians is built into the road system.
That's all good, though I wonder about the word "savings" in this -
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We are attracted to the idea of securing savings in the road-building budget each year to devote to cycling.
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Also, whose idea are they attracted to.
(it's probably all in the PoP manifesto!)
...securing savings in the road-building budget each year to devote to cycling
sounds like collecting the crumbs from off the floor to me
The last point is fairly key - good to see that there (and it is part of the POP manifesto)
one day I dream of a politician saying 'if there's any money left over from the cycling budget we will look at spending it on roads for the small minority of people who insist on driving'
It's only the LibDems...
(They were always quite keen on bicycling.)
Does show the value/influence of PoP - both the key people (especially Sally) AND the thousands who turn out once a year to prove that this 'handful of unelected lobbyists' actually has significant support.
In case you missed it, here's the link to the Scottish Green Party manifesto for the Holyrood elections, the first to be launched of all the parties:
https://greens.scot/scotland-can
Of particular relevance here is the section on Transport, worth quoting in full I think. Interestingly it's being presented as connecting people, and thus includes digital network infrastructure. What you might call a holistic view of why and how folk need to travel, and the alternatives.
https://greens.scot/scotland-can/connect-people
Scotland Can Connect People
Scotland’s geography presents challenges for connecting communities, from transport to the latest broadband and digital technologies. Our Green MSPs will propose policies focused on linking people with the places and information they need to create a connected society. We want to make active, affordable travel a possibility for all, better integrating sustainable transport with modern life. Fast broadband and good mobile coverage are also essential for people and businesses in a new sustainable economy.
Establishing better connected communities is not only a key driver for future prosperity, but also empowers the people of Scotland to choose where they want to live regardless of local amenities. Developing sustainable travel options which are accessible to everyone is essential to creating a low-carbon future and reducing the impacts of climate change. Currently two-thirds of all commuting is done by car; this is not sustainable but is the only option for too many people. This is also an equality issue – women and people from deprived areas disproportionately rely on public transport. Green MSPs will channel more investment into walking and cycling for shorter journeys, and push for a reliable and efficient public transport networks for longer ones. Using the latest technologies can ensure even the most remote and rural areas of Scotland can participate in the digital economy, whilst access to services (such as e-healthcare) and participation in public life can also be improved. The Scottish Greens will urge Government to connect all corners of Scotland.
Funding For Active Travel
We will work to increase the proportion of the transport budget spent on active travel to 10%. This equates to around £220 million per annum.
A Step-Change In Public Transport
Regulating buses and bringing rail back into public hands can create an affordable, reliable public transport system for Scotland.
High-Speed Broadband Access For All
Households and businesses throughout Scotland should have access to high-speed broadband and good telephone signal, so no part of the country is left behind.
As you might expect, there's an entire page on active travel:
https://greens.scot/content/scotland-can-give-walking-and-cycling-the-green-light
And another on public transport:
https://greens.scot/content/scotland-can-provide-affordable-accessible-public-transport
Here's the one on roads:
https://greens.scot/content/scotland-can-change-road-travel
And digital networks:
Actually this is disappointingly weak -
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We also want to give every child in Scotland the opportunity to undertake on-road cycle training and will work with councils to do this.
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They already have the "opportunity" (according to the SG/Cycling Scotland). The problem is that it is meant to rely on volunteers (parents and others). So in some schools it works and in others it doesn't happen.
Some schools make sure that even children who don't have bikes can take part.
A few years ago SG/Cycling Scotland provided money for bikes to be gien to schools with the highest number of free school meals - as long as they promised to look after them. I'm sure that worked ok at some schools.
I used to campaign on this and got a lot of interest from MSPs in the 1999 Parliament, but, it seems, some civil servants didn't like the idea of providing money for people to do the training (people paid to do it on a regular basis are far better than parents doing it the year their kids are old enough.) It worked in some places when the training was mostly done in playgrounds, but now the emphasis is on 'on-road' and people are (perfectly understandably) reluctant to 'take other people's children out'.
So money went to transforming the course from Cycle Training to Bikeability and providing the materials.
Schools such as Sciennes pay trainers - with money fundraised by parents' groups. Not many schools are as keen on cycling.
With the SNP's reluctance to ring-fence money and 'let LAs choose their own priorities' seems not much chance of universal training for P6s any time soon.
It should probably just be in the curriculum.
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SUPPORTERS of independence should not give their second vote to the SNP at the Holyrood elections, according to a new report by one of the country's top political scientists.
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"Curtice has also poured cold water on suggestions that the Conservatives could win more seats than Labour and usurp them as the official opposition.
...... Seat projection suggests leader Ruth Davidson could therefore end up with 16 list MSPs and two constituency MSPs, far fewer than she would need to lead the opposition."
Latest poll
It seems that Curtice might not have said what the Herald claimed.
“That this situation could arise in a number of regions, given the SNP’s current standing in the polls, has led to speculation that nationalist supporters might be wise on the second ballot to vote tactically for a different party, such as the Greens or the left-wing RISE grouping, both of which also support independence."
He is reporting what other people have speculated rather than what he thinks himself.
At least the Herald didn't have front page news about a fake nessie from 40 years ago but they need careful watching for what they are actually claiming these days.
@weefoldy no, i don't think he tells people how to vote, but he does go on to outline in some detail what would be the outcome of their doing so.
The Herald headline, at least, seems fair to me - the modelling and analysis presented by Curtice suggests that 'both votes SNP' will lead to 'wasted votes'.
also this:
"Meanwhile, we can see that with 11.6% of the vote, the Greens just miss out on winning a second list seat; the last of the seven list seats goes to Labour rather
than the Greens because their average vote per seat is just 0.2 of a
percentage point higher at that stage in the count. If, on the other hand, just 0.5% of voters had voted on the list ballot for the Greens rather than the SNP, the nationalists’ allies on the constitutional question would have secured another seat while their ‘defection’ would not have cost the SNP anything."
The Herald has this, "Professor John Curtice says Yes voters should instead give their backing to another pro-independence party - such as the Greens or the leftwing party Rise - in case unionist MSPs are let in by the back door.".
It's not in quotation marks but they claim that he said it which is a bit naughty.
Later in the piece there is this, "Pro-independence voters in other parts of Scotland who cast both votes for the SNP could therefore be “wasting” their regional list vote, according to Curtice.".
A one word quotation? That always makes me think of the ones I used to see above London west end theatres. "Amazing" The Times. What we don't know is if they Times felt it was amazingly good or amazing that someone produced something so bad.
The ERS bear examination too. As is often the best plan they have dealt with the difficult bit in the name of the organisation.
My beef here is much less with the professor than the standard of journalism found in the Herald in recent years.
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